Judging Young Cabs

[Bucko]

I still say it is a crap shoot, and I have been drinking CA Cabs since the 1974 vintage. Go back and look at Parker and WS extolling the virtues of the 1985 CA Cab vintage -- it has fallen apart, while the 84 and 86 are still drinkable. 89 was trashed, yet many wines are drinking well now. 88 was rated higher than 89, yet the wines are almost undrinkable. Dunn has been praised, yet the tannins are far outlasting the fruit IMHO.

If a wine does not have a sense of balance when it is young, it does not mysteriously appear in the bottle. I buy a wine with balance and complexity, plain and simple, not by the showy numbers. I rarely get disappointed these days - I've learned to trust my own palate.

Bucko

[This message has been edited by Bucko (edited 11-12-2000).]